Officials are ready to consider automatic opening of gates in The Villages.
The Project Wide Advisory Committee agreed in a meeting Monday morning at SeaBreeze Recreation Center to look at potentially making a radical change to the operation of the gates here in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Last month, members of PWAC and the Amenity Authority Committee, in a rare joint meeting, balked at the idea of spending millions of dollars to equip the gates with long-range readers that would automatically open them for residents’ vehicles with encrypted cards or stickers. The rejection came despite months of study and experimentation, which included some members of PWAC being equipped with special devices allowing them to test the automatic gate opening technology.
Residents have long complained about rolling down their windows to wave a card to open the gate. The card offers a feeling of exclusivity, but any motorist can pull up to the gate and push a red button to gain access to the public roads in The Villages.
Rather than spending money for the long-range readers, PWAC members agree that changing the way the gates open, could be the answer they have been seeking.
“The gates could change without spending millions of dollars,” said Duane Johnson, who represents Community Development District 8 on PWAC.
In essence, the gates could automatically open for all vehicles. It’s called “construction mode” and is regularly used in the newer areas of The Villages.
However, some PWAC members are nervous about such a dramatic change.
“I have a real concern with golf carts and these gates. If we want to do it, we want to proceed cautiously,”said Steve Bova, Community Development District 10’s PWAC representative.
PWAC members agreed that timing of the opening of the gates would be crucial to enacting such a plan, which is still in the early discussion state.
Do you think it’s a good idea to have the gates open automatically in The Villages? Share your thoughts at [email protected]